Roller side bearing



I A. STUCKI. ROLLER SIDE BEARING. APPLICATION man uNE 3, |918.

1,369,055. Patented' Feb. 22, 1921.

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ROLLER SIDE nEARrNG.

`Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

Application filed June 3, 1918. Serial No. 237,862.

To all whom t may concern: p

Be it known that l, ARNOLD STUGKI," a resident oi" Pittsburgh, in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Fennsylvanimhave invented a new anduseiiul Improvement in Roller Side Bearings, of which the following is aspecification. v

This invention relates to anti-friction side bearings for railway cars.Its object is to provide a roller side bearing adapted to be carried bythe truck bolster, which allows for the full angular movement of the carbolsters with a relatively limited or short lateral movement oi: theantiiiriction device; one in which the bearing surfaces are straightfrom end to end, and where, therefore, said bearing surfaces, and alsothe antifriction member itself can be formed by a rollin process fromhigh grade steel thereby ad ing to their ability to withstand severeservice; one which is not affected by side `bearing clearances; and onewhich is easy to inspect, is not liable tobecome clogged with dirt, iceorthe like and which possesses other advantages hereinafter appearing.

In the accompanying drawing Figure l is in parten end elevation and inpart a vertical section through the improvedV device, taken on a planelongitudinal of the car bolster; Fig. 2 is in part a side elevation andin part a vertical section'ofjthe device taken transversely of the carholsters; and Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the device adapted forelectric car or other service when a large radial movement of the carbolsters occur.

In the drawings, lV represents a portion of the body bolster, 2 aportion oit the trucl-z bolster, 3 the upper bearing plate carried bythe body bolster, and l the bottom bearing plate carried by the truckbolster. The former is shown connected directly to the body bolster andis a perfectly plain fiat surfaced plate, without flanges, projections,or the like, so that it can be formed by rolling from high grade steel.rlChe bottom bearing plate is of a similar form and construction, andmay, if desired, be also secured directly to the truck bolster, butinthe preferred form is secured to and contained within a frame orhousing' 5 provided with flanges 6 for securing the same to the truclrbolster and having upwardly extending walls which house theanti-friction member which is interposed between these two bearingsurfaces.

andwhich is adapted to roll on the bottom bearing plate from the centralposition toward either end. Suitable means are provided ;for returningthis roller to, or nearly to, its central position whenever the bolstersseparate, and preferably this means vacts solely by gravity. t Asillustrated, the side walls 8 of thehousing are provided with guideslots 9 which are inclined downwardly from both ends to the center.Through these slots and through' a central opening or bore l0 in theroller extends a pin or bolt 11 which is of much less diameter than thebore 10 in the roller, and also ot' less diameter than the height of theslots 9 so that it has a loose engagement both in the guide slots and inthe roller. This pin forms a gravity returning device and is shownprovided on one end with a head 12 and on its opposite end with a collar13 held in position by a cotter pin l-l-or the like. Both the head 12and collar 13 can be made large and heavy so as to make the device quiteponderous and enable it to more easily return the roller to centralposition. The pin ll is preferablycircular as shown, so that it willroll along the lower walls of the slots 9 and thus render its movementfree and enable it to exert substantially its full weightwithoutdimunition by friction in returning the roller to central position.

The operation ofthe device'is as follows:

Normally, when'the bolsters are cleared, the pin ll naturally seeks ythelowest point of the slots 9, and consequently holds the. roller insubstantially central position` When the body bolster comes down uponthe roller and the truck swivels under the car, the roller 7 travelstoward oneend of the tracks (as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2),affording a bearing which is substantially frictionless.l In its traveltoward the end of the bearing surfaces, the roller presses against thepin 11 and moves it toward the corresponding end of the slots 9, saidpin rolling upwardly in said slots on the lower walls thereof, and thismovement also is substantially frictionless. As soon as the body bolsteragain rises, the pin rolls back down the inclined lower walls of theslots 9 and thereby moves the roller back substantially to centralposition, so that the roller always automatically goes back toapproximately a central position whenever normal side bearing clearancesoccur, and therefore is always in proper position to again receive theload of the body bolster and to roll in either direction, depending uponthe direction of the swiveling of the truck under the car.

Preferably, the lower walls of the slots 9 are so positioned that whenthe parts arel in central position, the pin 1l is slightly clear fromthe lowermost point of the bore in the roller, so that the roller willnot always move to the mathematical center, and consequently will notbear, at all times when the body bolster comes down on it, at themathematical center of the bottom plate. ils a consequence, the wear onthe bottom bearing plate is distributed over a considcrable area and asaving in plates thereby effected. Also, the same point on the peripheryof the roller does not always come back to the same point on the bottomplate, due to the fact that the pin ll has a very loose connection withthe roller so that under the jolting of the train, and particularly byend shocks on the car, the ar causes the roller to slip on the bearingplate and present a new portion of its surface to the bottom bearingplate. By reason of these two facts, the wear on the bottom plate andalso on the surface of the roller is distributed, the bottom plate isprevented from being worn to a depression at its central part, and theroller is prevented from wearing flat.

With the construction shown, the roller need have only a very shortbodily travel, due to the fact that there is a double tra-vel, one atits lower surface and one at its upper surface. Consequently, forfreight and similar services, the roller can be cylindrical orsubstantially cylindrical without causing any material amount ofslippage due to the arcuate movement of the body holster. lf desired,however, the roller can be formed conical (and is so shown in Fig. 3)and thereby given any desired amount of travel in an arcuate path, as isdesirable in electrical car or traction service where sharp curvesfrequently occur. In this case, the pin also is correspondingly tapered,as shown in Fig. 3.

In order to prevent clogging by dirt, ice, and the like, the housing hasonly shallow end walls and the side walls omitted at 16, thus leavinglarge openings 17 at both ends at the level. of the bearing surface,thus avoiding a pocket in which ice, dirt or the like can collect.

The side bearing described is of very simple construction, provides fora laro'e relative movement between the body holsters with a very shorttravel of the roller, enables the use of perfectly straight plainfacedbearing plates, and a plain-faced roller without interengaging teeth orother means and thereby enables these parts to be formed by a rollingprocess and consequently formed of very durable metal and is thereforeable to withstand severe service, is easy to inspect, and has no pocketsfor the accumulation of dirt or ice. The roller always rests on thebottom bearing plate and hence the device is not affected by sidebearing clearances, the roller does not slide down when 'the truck isremoved from underneath the car, the device does not rattle, and hasother advantages over similar devices carried by the body bolster. Theinanner of connecting the roller to the housing is very simple and of kanature to keep the roller from becoming aslrew, permits the roller toslide under end shocks and jars so that a new face on the roller isbrought into contact with the bottom bearing plate but nevertheless theroller at all times is in proper position, and withal provides asubstantially frictionless bearing, the roller 7 and also the pin l1having a true rolling movement as a consequence of which friction isreduced to a minimum.

What I claim is: y

l. In an anti-friction side bearing, the combination with upper andlower bearing plates, of an interposed hollow circular roller or annularanti-friction member, side walls associated'with the lower bearing plateand provided with guide slots inclined from both ends to the center, andal weighted guide pin projecting through the roller and through saidslots and provided with enlargements at both ends outside of said sidewalls. y

2. In an anti-friction side bearing, the combination with upper andlower bearing plates, of ran interposed hollow circular roller orannular anti-friction member, side walls associated with they lowerbearing plate and provided with guide slots inclined from both ends tothe center, and a circular pin extending through said roller and throughsaid slots and in rolling engagement with said slots and provided at itsends exteriorly of the side walls with enlargements.

In testimonyv whereof, l have hereunto set my hand.

' ARNOLD STUCKI. Witness:

GLENN H. LnRnsoHn.

